Tabitha's Guardian (14 page)

“Excuse me. I am no longer hungry,” Tabitha
said quietly, anxious to escape before she started crying.

Owen watched her leave and was tempted to go
after her and give her a good spanking for acting like a brat, but
before he could go, Janice caught his attention.

“Tabby was telling the truth, Owen. You
should come home early and observe Horace without his knowing you
are around. I am sure you would feel like punching him in the nose
for the way he behaves toward Tabby.” Janice got up then and headed
out to find Jenson before he left for work.

Owen looked around in disgust. Apparently he
was the one elected to clean up after breakfast. He sighed, then
got to his feet. He had to leave in fifteen minutes and he wanted
an opportunity to speak with Tabby before leaving. Thankfully,
Tabby always washed up as she worked; so the kitchen table was the
only place that needed major effort. It did not take Owen long to
put everything into the dirty dishes rack, and then slide it into
the sterilizer.

He then hurried upstairs, confident he would
find Tabitha in their bedroom, but she wasn’t there. He found her
in her sewing room, and he could see that she was clearly in a
snit. He knew that she had a temper, but she was normally much
better at controlling herself. “Tabby, I need to leave for work
now.”

She immediately turned to face him. “Do you
think it would be possible that you could come home early today?”
Her pretty green eyes entreated him to do as she asked.

“I will see if I can make it work, honey. If
I can get out early, then perhaps we can go shopping for your
fabric.”

“I would love that, Owen. Thank you!” She
gave him a big smile, and then stood on tiptoe to place a kiss on
his lips. “I love you so much, husband.”

“I love you, too.” He quickly gathered his
carryall case and hurried to get to work.

Once Owen left the room, Tabitha closed the
door and locked it. She intended to remain locked up until her
husband came home. She was not going to provide entertainment for
Horace this day. As soon as she was sure her husband was gone, she
waited with bated breath to see what Horace would do, and she heard
him walking through the house, calling for her. Tabitha heard
Janice tell him to leave her alone, before she heard the door to
her bedroom close with a bang. They had promised each other last
evening that they would lock themselves in their rooms before
spending one more minute with the bothersome man.

“Tabitha, where are you?” She heard him call
for her. Tabby refused to answer. It was not long before he tried
the door to her sewing room. When he learned the door was locked,
he raised his voice in anger. “Tabitha, unlock this door
immediately. How am I to defend you if I cannot see you?” She still
did not answer. “I am going to break down this door if you do not
acknowledge me immediately.”

“Damn it, Horace! Go away and leave me
alone! I want nothing to do with you!”

“I think you and Janice need to come
downstairs now or I will have to call your husbands and tell them
that you are incorrigible and will not permit me to do my job.”

“Shut up, Horace! I have a headache and I am
trying to sleep! Your constant bellowing is making it worse!”
Tabitha heard Janice yell at the man. “If you call my husband, you
are the one he will find incompetent.”

“You will remain in your bed, then,” Horace
was quick to order in a gruff voice. “If I hear you moving about,
you will come downstairs with Tabitha and me. Come, Tabitha.”

“I am working, Horace, and I am not coming
downstairs. You can find something to amuse yourself, I am
sure.”

“You are behaving like a child.”

“Good! Leave me alone.”

The next thing she knew, Horace was speaking
to her husband. “She refuses to leave the room and she has the door
locked so that I cannot get in without breaking through the door. I
do not wish to cause damage to your home, but I cannot protect her
if I cannot see what she is doing.” He listened, and then said, “I
understand. Thank you, and yes, I will.” He disconnected the call,
and in the next moment Tabitha heard her communicator summon her.
She knew it was her husband, and answered right away.

“Tabby, what are you doing?”

“I am trying to get some work done. I am
trying to decide what colors I wish to use with my designs before
we go shopping this afternoon, but that damn Horace will not stop
banging on the door and making a nuisance of himself!”

“I will wash your mouth with soap if I hear
you swear again, Mrs. Patrick. Is that perfectly clear?”

“Yes, Owen. I am so sorry. I do not normally
swear, but I am aggravated beyond my endurance this day!”

“That might be an explanation, but it is not
a good excuse. No more.”

“I shall not swear again, husband,” she
agreed.

“Good. Honey, I am sorry to disappoint you,
but I cannot make it home before dinner tonight, and I may even be
late. Three different cases have come my way, and I cannot just up
and leave when these people need my help. I am terribly sorry.”

“I cannot stand this, Owen! I hate, hate,
hate, that man!”

“I know. Hopefully they will locate him
soon.”

“I am not talking about him!” she raised her
voice. “I am pointing a finger at Horace! I hate him!” she was
yelling now, hoping he heard her!

“That is more than enough, wife. I expect
you to settle down and behave yourself, or you will be in for a
serious spanking tonight when I get home. Unlock the door and find
something else to do. Do you hear me?”

“Of course I hear you!”

“Watch your tone of voice.”

“Why do you not just hang up, Owen? I do not
wish to discuss this further. Neither you, nor Father give a royal
ass damn what Janice and I think, and I am sick of hearing it.” She
disconnected the call then. When her communicator buzzed again, she
turned it off. Two seconds later she heard Horace’s communicator
ring loudly. He answered in his loud voice.

“I do not know if Tabitha has unlocked her
door; I will try the knob. Yes, it is unlocked,” he told Owen. Owen
must have been satisfied that she was going to obey him, but
Tabitha was sick and tired of doing as she was told. Horace was a
bigger threat to her sanity than the stalker. “Come downstairs,
Tabitha.”

“No. I unlocked my door, but you are not
welcome in this room. Leave me alone unless I call you,
Horace.”

“You are not taking the threat
seriously.”

“I am sick to death of being confined
because of some creep. Seriously Horace, leave me alone today.
There is no one else in this house, and with the security system
Daddy had installed, no one can possibly get inside without setting
off all sorts of bells and whistles and lights flashing, and if
someone is stupid enough to try and disable the alarm, it will
shout a warning, too.”

“I know this, but if you are downstairs, I
can watch over you better.”

“If I stay up here alone, it will probably
save you from harm. Go and leave me alone.”

“Your husband and father will not be
pleased.”

“Good!”

He shook his head in shock, and then stomped
away, his communicator in his hand.

Tabitha was not stupid. She knew that he was
calling her father this time! She sneaked across the hall and
slipped into Janice’s room. Janice was actually lying down in a
darkened room with a stay-cold on her head. “Are you really ill,
Janice?” she asked.

“Yes. Jenson and I had a terrible argument
and he spanked me so hard I was sobbing. My head started pounding
from crying so much and for so long, and my backside is burning
something awful. I just want to lie here and go to sleep if you and
that pain will stop fighting long enough.”

“I am so sorry, Janice. Horace is calling
Daddy now to complain about me. I just wanted to warn you not to
answer your communicator if he calls you.”

“Okay, honey. My pill is starting to kick
in, and I am very sleepy now.” She closed her eyes and was out,
just like that.

Tabitha turned her communicator on, and it
told her she had two messages from Owen; she did not listen to
either of them. Sure enough, her communicator buzzed and it was her
father. “Hello, Daddy.”

“Young lady, why are you behaving like a
bratty child?”

“I told you my reasons this morning and you
ignored me. I am not going to tolerate Horace’s presence any
longer, Daddy.”

“What will your husband have to say about
this?”

“Oh, he agrees with you, and that is really
too bad. I am the one who is stuck here with Horace, not either of
you two. Janice hates him, and just so you know, she is very ill
with a migraine right now. She took a pill and is sound asleep. We
want you to get rid of Horace.”

“The answer is no. Either you behave, little
girl, or I will take a paddle to you myself. I have to go now. My
next client is here.” He abruptly ended the call.

“Are you going to come downstairs now?”
Horace asked.

“No, I am not, and Janice is very ill. She
took a pill and is sound asleep, so there is to be no more talking.
Go downstairs, Horace.”

He looked as frustrated as she felt. He
suddenly took a seat on the floor. “Leave the door open.”

Tabitha wanted to cry. She needed to escape
the house, and she plotted what she would do if she were given the
opportunity. She picked up a book on dress design, and started
studying. The more she knew about the subject, the better she could
handle an interview by an actual designer. She allowed herself to
become engrossed in the book and was stunned when she heard a noise
coming from the hallway. She looked outside and saw her guard was
sound asleep on the job! She grabbed her purse, put her
communicator inside, and snatched up the notebook with her sketches
and all her notes. Tabitha managed to sneak past Horace, and
downstairs to the front door. She silenced the alarm, and then let
herself outside. A little while later she was downtown and ready to
go shopping for fabrics. This time she was paying attention to her
surroundings, but nothing and no one looked suspicious.

* * * * *

“Calm down man,” Owen said. “What are you
saying?”

“Tabitha is gone! She slipped past me and
shut off the alarm system and left the house! Do you want me to try
and find her? Or should I stay here with Janice? She is still in
her bedroom, sound asleep and unaware of this situation.”

“Stay with Janice. I will look for my wife.”
He got to his feet, “Edmund, I apologize, but I have an emergency
and need to leave. I will ask Becky to reschedule you.”

“Sure, Representative Owen. I understand.”
The man was quick to vacate the office, and Owen immediately told
Becky that he had to leave and asked her to reschedule his
appointments. He took off running then, trying to decide where his
wife would go, and he finally decided there was only one place she
had expressed an interest in for the last several weeks. He would
go to the fabric warehouse where she loved to shop. He prayed to
Father and Mother God and asked them to protect his foolish little
wife while he was trying to find her. And, when he did find her, he
was going to be very firm in disciplining her.

* * * * *

It did not take a terribly long time for
Tabitha to select her fabrics once she found them. She was enjoying
herself immensely and finished paying for her purchases, delighted
that the store had a large fabric shopping bag to put everything
in. They gave her the pretty bag since she bought so much, and she
was smiling happily when she left the store.

Her communicator rang while she was
shopping, but she reached down and turned it off without glancing
to see who was calling. She could only hope that Horace was still
sleeping, but she doubted it. She could not possibly be so lucky.
As she was getting into a vehicle, someone pushed her from behind,
and then a man got in beside her. He had a weapon in his hand,
which he kept hidden from the driver. He gave the man an address,
and then closed the window between them for privacy.

“You have been difficult to find, Tabitha
Tatiana.” The look in his eyes was manic, and Tabby immediately
knew this had something to do with that woman!

“Who are you?” she demanded, refusing to
cower and show fear in front of the man.

“I am the man whose life you ruined. My
lovely Glory is in prison for the rest of her life because of
you!”

“That woman is in prison because she tried
to poison my father and she had me falsely accused of crimes I did
not commit. She deceived the court and she got what she
deserved.”

“Do not speak that way or I will add to the
pain you will suffer before I end your life. You will suffer and so
will your father. He did not appreciate Glory like I did. He did
not have the decency to die, and she was forced to do unspeakable
things with him so he would not become suspicious.”

“What part of attempted murder do you not
understand?”

“Everything was working according to plan…
but you kept getting in the way. Glory wanted you out of the
way.”

“So she could steal my father’s money.”

“He has so much more than he needs. You will
die slowly now. Glory will be avenged.”

“Did she put you up to this? If she did, you
must realize that you will face the full penalty for kidnapping
me.”

“I do not care! I have nothing to live for
without my Glory.”

The car slid through the streets and into a
part of town that was not considered safe. In fact, Tabitha had
never been here before. She tried to pay attention so that when she
escaped him, she could find her way to safety. The vehicle pulled
up in front of an old, dingy apartment building and Glory’s lover
paid the fee.

“Get out quietly if you want the driver to
live to see another day. One word from you and I will shoot him
dead.”